Mr Philip Sewell on the Use of Sphagnum Moss. 343 



The Use of Sphagnum 3Ioss in Open- Air Gardening in the 

 Biviera. By Phillip Sewell. 



(Read Sth May 1890.) 



During the last few years various articles have appeared 

 in the Gardeners' Chronicle and elsewhere upon the use and 

 value of Sphagnum Moss for gardening purposes. " Fertilised 

 moss," as it has been called, has been advocated for the 

 growth of various classes of plants, not alone for use in 

 orchid-houses and stoves, but for those grown in the open 

 air in England, It is probable that in a cold, damp climate 

 it will never be much in demand for out-door gardening ; 

 but we are able to furnish details as to its use in Mr 

 Hanbury's notable garden of La Mortola, which show in a 

 most convincing manner its real value for the growth of 

 decorative plants in regions with conditions of climate similar 

 to those which obtain along the Eiviera. 



Such evidence might also be forthcoming from the 

 Botanical Gardens at Genoa, from whence Mr Hanbury 

 copied the plan of introducing beds of Sphagnum. At 

 Genoa it has answered remarkably well, and there may be 

 seen plants growing with extraordinary vigour of Pinus, 

 Abies, Picea, PUtospor^im, Pimelea, Erica, Arbutus, Diosma, 

 Citrus, Cytisus, Genista, among many others. 



Perhaps no portion of Mr Hanbury's wonderfully 

 cultivated thirty acres is so generally admired as is the long 

 and gracefully-curved stretch of covered walk known in 

 all Italian gardens by the name of " pergola " or " topia." 

 But at La Mortola the " pergola " is no mere lengthy arbour, 

 covered over by vine-trellises, as is most commonly the case 

 in gardens of the Eiviera. 



It is a marvellous piece of decorative gardening, planned 

 not only to show to the best advantage the many climbers 

 which here luxuriate, but with a view to the unrivalled 

 landscapes to be seen from it. 



It extends for some two hundred yards or more along the 

 steep hillside, and, thanks to Mr Hanbury's opinion as con- 

 trasted with that of the gardener who constructed it, pos- 

 sesses angular irregularities in its course, which allow of 



